Sneak peek: largest employers

Crain's Chicago Business takes a look at the area's 35 largest employers, ranked by number of local employees on staff as of Oct. 1.

Ten employers reported an increase in workers in the six-county area. Chicago-based Bank One Corp., No. 15 on the list, had the largest increase--5.9% to 14,718. Employco Group Ltd. of Westmont, ranked No. 35, followed with a 5.5% increase to 4,878 full-time employees.

Twenty-one, or 60%, of the 35 largest employers posted a decrease in the number of workers. No. 14 Motorola Inc., based in Schaumburg, posted the largest drop, 16.7%. Elk Grove Township-based United Airlines, which filed for bankruptcy in December, followed with a 16.1% drop in employees. United ranks 13th on the list.

Once again, the U.S. government employed the most people overall--more than 21 million total, about 88,000 of whom work in the Chicago area. No. 29 McDonald's Corp., based in Oak Brook, was a distant second with 421,000 total employees and 6,200 working here.

Crain's compiled the ranking based on the number of full-time, full-time equivalent and part-time employees in the six-county area: Cook, DuPage, Will, Lake, McHenry and Kane counties. Each listing contains contact information, head of the Chicago office, revenues and earnings data.

The complete list appears in the Nov. 24 issue of Crain's and is available online Saturday to subscribers of ChicagoBusiness.com.